Endoscopic surgical instruments are often preferred over traditional open surgical devices since a smaller incision, or incisions, associated with endoscopic surgical techniques tends to reduce the post-operative recovery time and complications. Consequently, significant development has gone into a range of endoscopic surgical instruments that are suitable for precise placement of a distal end effector at a desired surgical site through a cannula of a trocar. These distal end effectors engage the tissue in a number of ways to achieve a diagnostic or therapeutic effect (e.g., endocutter, grasper, cutter, staplers, clip applies, access device, drug/gene therapy delivery device, and energy device using ultrasound, RF, laser, etc.).
Some minimally invasive procedures can require cutting of tissue using a cutting feature located at a working end of a device. For example, many surgical stapling devices or energy devices utilize a knife to cut tissue engaged between a pair of jaws. It is undesirable, however, to cut the tissue prior to stapling or sealing the tissue with energy. In addition, inadvertent or improper activation of the cutting feature can result in damage or malfunction of the cutting feature.
Accordingly, there remains a need for improved methods and devices for controlling the ability to activate a cutting feature of a surgical instrument.